For the sake of argument, let's say you are NOT upgrading darks in utility slots, and you are running an ioun stone, and have epic artifact equipment.... Let the fun begin.....
You have 16 enchantment stones to upgrade (excluding utility slots), If you have all legendary equipment you have 20 to upgrade.
Now let's say you buy all level 7 enchantments for 10k AD each and want to upgrade them all to level 10 yourself - to save the most resources (and of course you do....). Each upgrade from level 7 to level 10 costs you (10) greater marks of potency and (8) level 7 enchants.
(10) GMOPs @ 85k AD = 850,000 AD
(8) Level 7 enchants @ 10k AD = 80,000 AD
Total price tag = 930,000 AD (I am completely excluding any price involved in upgrading the enchantments to the next level or "feeding", btw...)
Now.... That's 16 enchantment stones x 930,000 AD.
That is 14,880,000 AD. 13,600,000 of which comes from buying Greater Marks of Potency.
Now if you are legendary geared AND are running darks in your utilities, that's 25 enchantments x 930,000 AD. Well, that's gonna cost you 23,250,000 AD.
I believe if you're a free to play player, you can earn about 700k AD per month. 20 months to get to level 10 enchantments, grinding every day, JUST to level 10. I don't even want to BEGIN to calculate the cost of going to level 12...
This post is meant to be objective and I am not inserting any opinions. It is purely an FYI for players
Before now, I had no idea the amount of GMOPs it would take to get JUST to level 10. Also it should be stated that the strength of your enchantments almost doubles between rank 7 and 10. And about 70% of the total stats an enchantment can give comes from between ranks 8 and 12. Again though, totally unbiased opinion on the motivations of the makers of this game. This is JUST the cost of upgrading enchantments from rank 7 to rank 10 (excluding the cost of leveling or "feeding" the enchantment. This does not show the cost of upgrading artifacts and artifact equipment... 20 months, JUST.
If you are unsure of how I came up with the numbers, please ask, just so all can be aware.
Comments
But mainly, it's an MMO. It's supposed to take time. Many will rush, others will not.
And you fail to mention the new improved higher mark of potency that is needed, that sells for the same price as the current GMOP. With that in mind, I don't think that the change you mention will impact the OP's numbers significantly.
Give it away until they are hooked and then stick it too em. A lot of this depends how often we are going to be upgrading the artifact gear as wel. That is, if we keep getting newer artifact pieces things can get annoying, if not it provides a long term path to upgrading. It's the difference between too much which kinda makes things feel futile and keeping it interesting. A delicate balance to be sure. Presently it seems as if they are going a bit hard..
The point I got from your OP is that it takes time and effort(or money) to gear up. I don't think anyone thought otherwise.
2nd point, you're spot on. I do mean it takes money. Time and effort is not enough. Unless you mean playing for years to run content. To play the game competitively, whether in pvp or run any PVE end game dungeons, it takes money. Unless you want to run double pallies, but that's a whole other story, which I couldn't expand on here, even if I wanted to.... And it takes A LOT of money. To elaborate, I really mean gouged. I don't want to insert my opinion too much but the point of the post was to show exactly to the degree of which you are subject to be gouged to play competitively. That was the point... The degree to which you are at a disadvantage without contributing astronomical sums of money.
I think everyone realizes that it is pay to win, but I don't think everyone, myself included, fully understood the degree of how far it actually goes. 15 - 25 million astral diamonds, for JUST one character, JUST to upgrade from 7 to 10 enchants, and nothing else, JUST that one aspect of the game - which seems minor to everything else you need. That is a far cry from time and effort - and for me, is an absolutely absurd amount of money to play the game competitively. It truly disappointed me because the only I way I play is competitively, and at the highest level of all games I play. I just wanted to open people's eyes the way mine just got openied. Any game that says free to play you can probably assume costs thousands of dollars to play at the highest level.
IMO, too many people treat MMOs like other genres and feel that they need to "beat" the game in a month or so. To them, I think I would say, MMOs might not be your gig.
The path I am taking to upgrade my gear will probably take me months (if I'm lucky, it will take years) and I am fine with that because it means I have a game that enjoy playing and I can keep playing if for a long, long time.
/wall. o/
To me, it sounds like you're saying you don't mind being inferior in ability to contribute to content compared to everyone you play with, if you are in fact clearing end game pve content as a free player and that you are being carried by others. If that is not the case, then I would say you have put a lot of money into this as I have. And either way is fine for me. But the latter would only be proving my point.
Personally though, I don't feel the need to beat a game in a month and that is exactly what I like about rpgs, mmorpgs and that was not the point of this post. It seems to me, some people just want to stick up for a game they like, and that is fine. But to them I would say jumping into an objective argument might not be their gig.
You have no way of knowing what most everyone wants and neither do I. I can't assume everyone plays like me and you can't assume everyone plays and wants the same as you. It boils down to, I really don't know if there is a strong need/desire among the majority of the player base to get to the levels you used or to do it quickly, there may be. I do know that I don't want anyone who reads your post to get discouraged/dissuaded by the conclusions you provide without knowing there is at least one dissenting opinion from another player about the need and time. But, they should know the cost you provided is accurate and they will pay it if they want those levels.
I used to say Neverwinter was much better time spent than Destiny because it was a treadmill for the sake of a treadmill and in NW I felt the incremental progress. BUT after seeing what it takes in 2x RP, I'm pretty floored. It took my 3 of the Blood Rubys I bought from hitting 70 at 50% off just to take my weapon from 58-59. 3!!!!
I'm totally all for trickling out the progression over time, BUT there's people out there with all Legendary and Mythic and Rank 10s+. Seriously, that's quite a disparity that doesn't put people on even ground.
I've never been disillusioned that spending $ wasn't their goal, but it's VERY clear now how much everything is based on this and just how severe it is.
I dont see myself with full rank 9s even if this mod lasts 5 months.
Maybe rank 9 defence but rank 8 offense yes,
Ima tank
Seeing the total makes it seem like a lot, but that cost is spread out over months. It's like having a small bank account all year and seeing tens of thousands of dollars on your W-2. He's trying to sticker shock people.
Greater Marks are dropping more often now. They are also per-person and you don't have to worry about boot-looters. The price is dropping even with the double refinement and new artifact [equipment] causing a momentary demand for them.
Why even complain while prices aren't stable and content is so new that farming hasn't picked up?
I farmed like mad and all of my chars and bank accounts are empty now, still 5 more chars to do that. Next time double RP.
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As for the OP's point.....that's been a very difficult balance for myself, trying to stay interested without becoming overwhelmed by the grind. This DR weekend definitely put into perspective the amount of work it takes to truly level up your character without spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to be competitive...which is probably the main reason why i've never been able to get into PVP. Matches are setup based on levels, yet no level 70 is the same as the next and you can often feel like you're some level 10 noob who was mistakenly dropped into the wrong match....
Artifact Equipment 18,580,800
Artifacts 41,878,540
Enchantments 43,545,400
Companion 19,595,430
Total 123,600,170
This total does not include any reagent enchantments you may need to lvl up nor the marks needed. One nice thing is after upgrading your enchantments to 10, you no longer need reagents, just marks.
Superior Marks of Potency have been added to the Wondrous Bazaar and will be priced at 100k AD and Have a chance to drop from the Refiner's Cache and Coffers in the Dread Ring.
Refining Enchantments from Rank 10 to 11 will now cost 2 Superior Marks of Potency, instead of 5 Greater Marks of Potency.
Refining Enchantments from Rank 11 to 12 will now cost 4 Superior Marks of Potency, instead of 5 Greater Marks of Potency.
Refining Armor and Weapon Enchantments above Rank 10 now require Superior Marks of Potency instead of Greater Marks of Potency.
Notes on tomorrow's patch. Lol glad i didn't buy any gmop this drp
Leveling enchants from 7-10 costs was cut by 3/4.
Leveling enchants from 10-11 costs was cut by over 1/2
Leveling enchants from 11-12 costs was cut by 1/5.
For the people who has 20 characters farming leadership instead of playing the game, yeah it does affect ability to earn ad.